Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey Movie Review: Move over RRR, the best fight scene of 2022 now belongs to Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey! What's more, I also confer upon it the most massy scene of the year as well! Malayalam Cinema has been breaking barriers and grounds when it comes to challenging societal dogma. A couple of years back, The Great Indian Kitchen showed a stark depiction of a woman's role in a patriarchal household. Vipin Das' Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey attempts something similar with its protagonist, but does it in a very entertaining manner to get its message across. The Great Indian Kitchen Movie Review: Nimisha Sajayan, Suraj Venjaramoodu’s Social Drama, Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Is Brilliant!

When Jaya (Darshana Rajendran) was born, her father wanted her to be like 'Indira Gandhi'. But it's easy to make pompous declarations, the harder task is to follow it up, as we find out through Jaya's life-journey that it never happens. From her toys to her clothes to even her name, Jaya has been getting all hand-me-downs from her elder brother. She doesn't get much say in what she needs to do in her life and what she needs to be educated in, and when a failed love affair becomes public, Jaya is married off to Rajesh (Basil Joseph), a poultry business man.

When Jaya goes to Rajesh's house for the first time after marriage, she sees troubling signs around her like cracked table tops, mended chair egs - signs of a temperamental person within the house. That temperamental person turns out to be her husband, whose rigid, unloving nature and arrogant attitude even to his own mother and sister soon becomes evident. And before she knows it, she is at the receiving end of his many slaps.

But after years of being submissive to her family and now to her husband, will Jaya be forced to retaliate? Watch the film to find out!

Watch the Trailer:

Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey is written by the director along with Nashid Mohamed Famy, who have done a wonderful job of setting up Jaya's predicament of being a woman in a patriarchal society and how her desires and ambitions are crushed by people who is supposed to take care of her - be it her father, mother, uncle, lover and husband. The incidents and characters shown are very much relatable and nothing feels out of place. Especially notable in the opening act is the portion involving Aju Varghese's character, Jaya's supposedly liberal thinking lecturer turned lover, who turns out to be much of an arse like her future husband. Also wondering if this arc is poking fun at some of the earlier Malayalam movies that had no qualms in showing a romance between a teacher and a student without making it be creepy, which it should have been.

While it was cruising smoothly in the opening act, Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey gets better with the introduction of Rajesh, who is first shown checking himself out in the side-view mirror of his car and twirling the little bit of the moustache he has. That one scene says it all about what to expect from him, and needless to say, Rajesh doesn't disappoint in being the epitome of toxic male masculinity. The scene of his emotional and physical abuse towards Jaya, immediately followed by sequences of him trying to pacify his saddened wife through watching movies in theatre and then ordering food as per his liking, is severe reminder of the men around us who believe it is their privilege to treat women as their possessions. Kala Movie Review: Tovino Thomas’ Thriller Is a Brutal Saga That Pokes Holes Into Alpha Masculinity.

Funny enough, it is the scenes where others react to the stories of his violence which are what hit you harder and makes you realise how domestic violence is so ingrained in the societal mindset that it has often seen as a norm. Like Rajesh's mother, played by a terrific Kudassanad Kanakam, who may scold her son for misbehaving with his wife, but doesn't interfere when it happens, and when the tables are turned, she laments about how her 'poor' son is being victimised. Or his co-workers, who when they believe that he has started kicking his wife, speaks in a sympathetic manner to him gently reminding him that crossing the line is not good.

And when I talk about how detestable Rajesh is as a character, how can I not mention how fantastic Basil Joseph is in the role! Usually playing the loveable boy-next-door kind of roles, Rajesh is a major departure for the actor-director, known to cinema buffs country-wide for making Minnal Murali, and he is highly convincing in bringing out the brashness of the role, as well as depicting the comic repercussions later on. And it is also due credit to the makers that they humanise Rajesh as a character and make him relatable, but never going to the extent of making us sympathise with him.

Enough about Rajesh. It is time to speak and rave about one of the best written female characters in recent times, whose name - borrowed from the National Anthem nonetheless - is repeated four times in the title. Jaya's transformation from a docile girl forced to be subservient, to being a rebel and then a victim of manipulation, and then to being a fighter, is well-etched out throughout the whole movie. The scene where she finally stamps her feet down to Rajesh's abuse made me clap hard, and the movie was not done there. Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey doesn't transform Jaya into some Iron Lady thereon; Jaya still stumbles and there are scenes that I beseeched her to react and say something forceful to the caustic words thrown at her, but she doesn't. But by restraining her rebellious streak but never sacrificing it out, whenever Jaya finally retaliates, it is always a pleasure to watch, especially in that punch of an ending! Appan Movie Review: Alencier and Sunny Wayne's Dark Family Drama Works for Its Sharp Performances and Stinging Approach to Its Characters.

It definitely helps that Das adds an entertaining element to some of those retaliations - like the 'match' between Jaya and Rajesh which wrecks their whole dining room - which allows the viewer to cherish and cheer those victories.

Of course, Jaya would not have worked that well if handled by an actor of lesser caliber, and here's where a wonderful actress like Darshana Rajendran comes in play. Darshana puts in stunning work here, portraying beautifully the fragility of Jaya, as well as her strength, and she dominates the whole show like a boss. I hereby declare Darshana as the 'Action Hero' of Mollywood this year, and if you have seen the film, you would know why!

Even the supporting cast puts in good acts with Azeez Nedumangad, Anand Manmadhan, Sarath Sabha, Sheethal Zackaria and Sudheer Paravoor putting in good performances. Manju Pillai leaves an impact as a judge in the climax of the film.

Final Thoughts

With Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey, Malayalam Cinema continues to hold its head high when it comes to making movies that holds a mirror to the society and asking it to make the needed difference. And what's more, it does so in a very yet entertaining and enjoyable manner, without compromising on the sensitivity on dealing with a traumatic subject like domestic abuse. Highly recommended!

Rating:4.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 14, 2022 03:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).